Roman Totenberg and a daughter’s tribute

Every now and then an obituary actually makes you feel good – not only because of the magnificent accomplishments of the deceased but also because of what his life says about the special attractions of our own society. Such was the case this morning as I listened to NPR’s tribute to Roman Totenberg, violinist and father of Nina Totenberg, the NPR reporter.

Roman Totenberg, who died Tuesday, was born more than 100 years ago in Poland and made his U.S. debut with the National Symphony Orchestra in 1935. As Nina Totenberg tells it[1], “The performance was such a success — he was called back six times for encores — that he was invited to the White House to play for President Roosevelt. Totenberg had a few weeks earlier played for the king of Italy, and that affair was so formal that he had to borrow a top hat and cape from the Polish ambassador, and back off the stage so as not to offend the king. In contrast, after the performance at the White House, Eleanor Roosevelt served dinner in the family quarters, serving each of the performers from a sitting position on the floor in front of a table. As Totenberg would later recount, he thought to himself as he compared the two events, ‘This is the country for me!'”

Given his contributions to the music scene over the next 77 years, we are fortunate that it was.